Page 1 of 2 NATO weaves South Asian web By M K Bhadrakumar

Sparrow

Council Member
Nov 12, 2006
1,202
23
38
Quebec
The NATO summit in Lisbon at the end of November, therefore, came as an eye-opener for South Asians. Voices in the transatlantic space that questioned the continued the raison d'etre of the alliance have fallen completely silent.
Unscathed psyche
Quite obviously, the alliance is well on the way to transforming into a global political-military role, and it is forward-looking. There are skeptical voices still that in an era of European austerity, a question mark ought to be put on the alliance's ambitions. European cutbacks in military deployment and rigorous savings programs in defense budgets should not be overplayed, either. NATO is by far today the most powerful military and political alliance in the world.
The US has always been the main provider of the alliance's budget - almost 75% currently - as well as its "hard power". The perceived widening of the US-Europe "divide", however, presents a complex scenario as regards the alliance's evolution as a security organization in the 21st century.
On the other hand, it has been replaced by an unequivocal acceptance of the continued raison d'etre of the trans-Atlantic alliance - and the US's leadership role in it - as well as the need of a robust search for partnerships in other regions. Clearly, the US will continue to give primacy to its transatlantic security partnership and intends to use NATO as a key instrument for exerting influence globally as well as for preventing the emergence of any independent power center that challenges its preeminence.
US President Barrack Obama's tour of the Asian region in November (just before NATO gathered in Lisbon), which included stops in India, Indonesia and [COLOR=green ! important][COLOR=green ! important]South [COLOR=green ! important] Korea[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR], and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's extensive tours of the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Asia-Pacific region in recent months underscore that the US is bolstering defense ties in the region and scouting for underpinnings for the future expansion of NATO's partnerships in the region.
Asia Times - Bing

Since when has NATO's purpose been to become a geopolitical military force. We are being roped into somebody's else's final goal. We went to Afghanistan for one reason and now this!
 

darkbeaver

the universe is electric
Jan 26, 2006
41,035
201
63
RR1 Distopia 666 Discordia
We can join the "conspiracy theorist crowd" or we can capitulate in totality to the banking horde. Who will treat you kinder? There will be no quarter given by either, of that you can be assured, this time the banker join the dynosaurs or all decent people do.
 

Bar Sinister

Executive Branch Member
Jan 17, 2010
8,252
19
38
Edmonton
It is fill in the vacuum politics. As Afghanistan has shown treats to the West can come from anywhere. Since the UN is doing a particularly poor job of dealing with international terrorism NATO is stepping into areas that used to be considered beyond its mandate. However, there is nothing terribly new about this. The greatest number of respondents to North Korean aggression during the Korean War were NATO allies. In fact the Korean War is given credit for taking what was simply an idea and making NATO into a true alliance.
 

dumpthemonarchy

House Member
Jan 18, 2005
4,235
14
38
Vancouver
www.cynicsunlimited.com
NATO continues a march of folly. You have to wonder about us Canucks, there is enough political support in Canada to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a far away country in a civil war, and we spend a pittance in the Arctic. We have pathetic aboriginal patrols of hundreds of thousands of square miles. Not knowing is nuclear subs are going under the ice, which they are of course. Being a USA lapdog is not the best plan.
 

damngrumpy

Executive Branch Member
Mar 16, 2005
9,949
21
38
kelowna bc
This New World Order thing really started with Hitler in fact it was his slogan,
There is one hell of a day of reckoning coming in the not to distant future where
the concept will go out the window in my view. People will only wake up when
the money is gone along with their aspirations and dreams. When that happens
there will be no more of this international banking, trade, and so on. It will do
like it has always done. Everyone for themselves, because the nations of the
world will be to broke to do otherwise. These bankers and those in the elite
positions of the world will be looking for a place to hide just like the days of the
French Revolution, the tribulations in Europe and the upheaval to come in America
and Asia. All those Unpatriotic business people today so revered, will be hunted
by those without work or a future for their kids.
The financial collapse is coming whether we like it or not, and whether we believe
it or not. I hear people saying Canada is safe. Sure we are going to stand alone
with prosperity while the entire world goes down. NATO was a defence force to
provide some strategy for North Americans in time of crisis. We are so bankrupt
in of societal view we rented NATO out to the UN to go after the Taliban.
We are there now and have to see it through, but the problem for NATO will not
be to control the enemies from without. They will be used to put down the angry
mobs within our respective nations when the people finally figure out what suckers
they have been played for.
 

Bar Sinister

Executive Branch Member
Jan 17, 2010
8,252
19
38
Edmonton
This New World Order thing really started with Hitler in fact it was his slogan,
There is one hell of a day of reckoning coming in the not to distant future where
the concept will go out the window in my view. People will only wake up when
the money is gone along with their aspirations and dreams. When that happens
there will be no more of this international banking, trade, and so on. It will do
like it has always done. Everyone for themselves, because the nations of the
world will be to broke to do otherwise. These bankers and those in the elite
positions of the world will be looking for a place to hide just like the days of the
French Revolution, the tribulations in Europe and the upheaval to come in America
and Asia. All those Unpatriotic business people today so revered, will be hunted
by those without work or a future for their kids.
The financial collapse is coming whether we like it or not, and whether we believe
it or not. I hear people saying Canada is safe. Sure we are going to stand alone
with prosperity while the entire world goes down. NATO was a defence force to
provide some strategy for North Americans in time of crisis. We are so bankrupt
in of societal view we rented NATO out to the UN to go after the Taliban.
We are there now and have to see it through, but the problem for NATO will not
be to control the enemies from without. They will be used to put down the angry
mobs within our respective nations when the people finally figure out what suckers
they have been played for.

What is your source for so dismal a view of the future? I see little indication that international banking is in much trouble; not with Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and yes, even European and US banks making trillions. The same is true of international trade - Major trade nations like China, Germany, and Japan, and the USA; the four largest exporters on the planet are very unlikely to push for any type of protectionism. Nor do I see any sign of revolutionary movements in any of these nations that are pushing to topple the government.